Malaysians, already suffering from massive rises in cost of living due to a series of subsidy cuts, can expect another huge whammy going by hints dropped by Prime Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday.
According to Najib, once the goods and services tax (GST) was implement, his BN government could cut corporate and personal income tax.
"As far as the people are concerned, there is a growing acceptance that the GST is good," Najib, who is also Finance Minister, told reporters after attending the Budget 2012 Consultation.
But it is clear that few Malaysians would share his confidence that there was growing GST acceptance amongst the populace.
Even Najib himself was quick to hedge his bets on public sentiment by saying his administration was still engaging with the Public Awareness Education Programme to educate the people on the advantages of the GST.
"When the people have fully understood and accepted, that's the right time for us to implement the GST. We will make an announcement after we have assessed the people's acceptance of the GST. I will announce when the time comes," said Najib.
Programmes to 'benefit' the people
Asked whether the people could expect good news in the 2012 budget due to be delivered on October 7, Najib said it would be "inclusive and people-centric".
"I would say, we will do programmes that will benefit the people. In fact, even before the budget is tabled, there will be a few major programmes that will be launched in June and July," said the PM.
The GST, also known as value-added tax or VAT in many countries, is a multi-stage consumption tax on goods and services.
The tax is levied on the supply of goods and services at each stage of the supply chain from the supplier up to the retail stage of the distribution.
Even though the GST is imposed at every level of the supply chain, the tax element does not become part of the cost of the product as the GST paid on the business inputs is claimable.
- Malaysia Chronicle
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